Monstrosity

Contents

Description

The Monstrosity is claimed to be a large SUV with an extremely spacious interior, but has an extremely low MPG rating, with advertisements claiming it "only gets 3 miles to the gallon", and uses up fuel.

The advertisement for the Monstrosity differs in the American and European handbooks for GTA III - The American and Australian versions advertise a red Landstalker, whereas the European advertisement depicts an RC monster truck based on a 1999-2004 Ford Super Duty F-250 regular cab with "Maibatsu Monstrosity" crudely painted on the side. The advertisement for the Monstrosity is a jab at the SUV craze of the early 2000s.

Though it is not seen in any of the games, it is referenced several times on talk radio shows. For instance, in GTA III, a caller on Chatterbox FM was stopped by the police while driving in her teal Monstrosity after driving recklessly to get to the hospital. In Grand Theft Auto IV, a caller to the Conservative talk show The Richard Bastion Show on the radio station WKTT says that Americans drive incredibly large, polluting Maibatsu Monstrosities that destroy the environment, to which Bastion replies "I know! It's great!". During Public Liberty Radio's Intelligent Agenda, the Monstrosity is mentioned briefly. It is possible that the Monstrosity was a beta version of the Landstalker.

Ads

The following are transcribed from radio ads from Grand Theft Auto III.

Man: I'm a marketing manager who lives in the suburbs and commutes to work
on the highway. I live alone, so of course I needed a car that can
seat 12 and is equipped to drive across arctic tundra... it just
makes me feel better!

Woman: Phil and I just had another kid. So of course we need a bigger SUV.
Being a mom is hard, with soccer, football and lacrosse practice,
so we bought the new Maibatsu Monstrosity. It's so big! We lost
little Joey in the back and couldn't find him for an hour! When
I'm rushing to the mall, or talking on my cell phone, I know me
and my family are safe. The Maibatsu Monstrosity has 4-wheel
drive, and in amphibious mode, it can cross rivers! So far I've
only hit a few puddles, but it's good to know it's there. With the
time I save taking shortcuts through the strip-mall parking lot I
can focus on the important things, like gazing longingly at the
pool boy or buying more exercise equipment off the TV. So what if
it gets 3 miles to the gallon!? I'm a mom, not a conservationist!